Time: Thu May 22 00:01:01 1997
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	Wed, 21 May 1997 23:42:55 -0700 (MST)
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	Wed, 21 May 1997 23:42:44 -0700 (MST)
Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 23:44:34 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: "Collapse of America," by Linda Bowles

<snip>
>
>>Collapse of America
>>by   LINDA BOWLES
>>
>>                   May 21, 1997
>>
>>It has become fashionable to predict the collapse of America based on
>>the study of historic models. One popular model is religious, another
>>favorite is secular. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
>>has just made it much easier for eschatologists of all stripes to
>>make the case that the trumpet of doom may be heard in the distance.
>>The EEOC has just expanded the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
>>to include the mentally ill.
>>
>>Employers must now "accommodate" people with "sick" minds. When Jesus
>>was asked by his disciples how they would know the end was near, He
>>did not specifically mention the EEOC. But He did speak of a time of
>>extreme social disarray, moral confusion and political despotism.
>>There is no question that the EEOC ruling strengthens the hand of
>>those who believe the end is near. However, I will not dwell on the
>>religious model. It involves the end of the entire world, and, while
>>that is important, my operative theory is that America as we know it
>>will be history long before the end of time arrives. The secular model
>>involves ominous parallels between ancient Rome and modern America.
>>
>>In 1944, the popular historian Will Durant put us on notice when he
>>wrote: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it
>>has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome's decline
>>lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade,
>>her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars."
>>Just substitute America for Rome in reading this and you have to
>>concede that we suffer from a number of the symptoms of decline
>>identified by Durant. It should be clear that the EEOC proclamation is
>>an example of "bureaucratic despotism." It is more than that. It is an
>>example of bureaucratic insanity likely to make of the workplace more
>>of an unmanageable madhouse than it already is.
>>
>>The new rules cover not only people with mild neurotic conditions but
>>also those with full-blown psychotic dysfunctions, including
>>schizophrenia, paranoia and manic-depression. This is nuts! If the
>>employer does not properly "accommodate" the mentally ill when he
>>hires, promotes, pays, assigns work and terminates employment, he runs
>>the risk of being legally harassed and hauled into court to try to
>>explain himself. He could be put out of business by lawyers
>>specializing in defending the rights of the psychologically challenged.
>>Weirdly, the new guidelines forbid employers to ask potential hires if
>>they have a history of mental impairment.
>>
>>They may not ask employees who are known to be mentally disturbed if
>>they have taken their medication. And they may not discuss with other
>>workers why certain employees are given special treatment -- including
>>job tutoring, extra time off, sound-proof work stations, special
>>parking places and dispensation for disruptive and offensive behavior
>>that would not be tolerated in others. The EEOC has a standard of
>>expectation that minorities and women will be randomly distributed in
>>all jobs. Will businesses now be expected to have a similar
>>distribution of the mentally ill in all jobs? Will confused employers
>>keep token crazies around just to convince the EEOC Gestapo that they
>>have good intentions?
>>
>>The greater problem will involve definition. Just what is a mental
>>illness? Is alcoholism a mental illness? Will debilitating addictions
>>to sex or cigarettes qualify for mandated understanding? How about the
>>chronic fear of work, the compulsion to cross dress, the irrepressible
>>need to carry and publicly fondle guns, and the irrational belief
>>that soap and water are tools of Satan? Surely, not even a
>>cold-hearted, conservative capitalist or a sour-souled, liberal
>>socialist would dare argue that the full protection of the law does
>>not extend to those who suffer from these regrettable, possibly
>>genetically determined disorders. But how will they be "accommodated"
>>on the job?
>>
>>For example, what will the employer do if confronted by an employee
>>who complains that his emotional stress and suicidal tendencies can
>>only be controlled with medicinal marijuana? Will employees with
>>emotional disorders be left in jobs with the potential to cause
>>accidents, damage the environment, destroy property and inflict harm
>>upon themselves and others? Even an employer with Solomon skills will
>>not be able to make decisions that will protect his business against
>>ruinous lawsuits. The redefinition of all business as being in the
>>public domain and hence subject to the total control of government
>>bureaucrats is essentially complete.
>>
>>The Constitution has been abandoned. We now operate under the
>>socialistic philosophy that any perceived need in the workplace
>>warrants micro-management by the state. Employees are increasingly
>>seen as potential liabilities. An ever expanding set of "rights" to
>>bring lawsuits has made every personnel action from hiring to firing
>>a legal minefield. No wonder harried executives daydream of automated
>>factories and plants in Mexico.
>
<snip>

========================================================================
Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S.    : Counselor at Law, federal witness
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